Hello Rosary lovers 🙂 We all have loved ones, and many of us know what it is like to lose those we love. In this post, we will briefly look at: how to pray the Rosary for someone who has died.
Rosary Intention for the Departed Person
It’s really easy to pray the Rosary for someone, even for a departed soul. You simply say before beginning the Rosary: ‘I offer this Rosary for [state name].’
We Catholics call this stating our intention. You state your intention for praying this particular Rosary, ideally before beginning the Rosary.
You don’t have to state an intention before beginning the Rosary. You don’t have to state any intentions. You can just pray it, and God will use your prayers as he sees fit.
If you do want to pray the Rosary for someone who has died, but you have already begun the Rosary and you forgot to state your intention, it doesn’t matter. God knows your heart and knows you want to pray for this person. God hears the silent cries of our hearts.
But if you wish, you can state at anytime during the recitation of the Rosary: ‘I offer the rest of this Rosary for [state name].’
Or you can say at the beginning of the Rosary: ‘Lord, I offer this Rosary for [then you state the name of the person who has died.]
The Rosary and the Holy Souls
The Rosary is particularly powerful when it is offered for the holy souls in purgatory. This is a very meritorious thing to do, and is a profound act of charity.
This can also be classed as almsgiving, because you are giving your prayers and doing what you can for the poor souls in purgatory.
The souls in purgatory rely on our prayers to help them become liberated from their state, and find their way to heavenly glory.
For instance, recently my priest gave me a dispensation from the Ash Wednesday fast because I work a job which requires a lot of manual labour, and I was working on Ash Wednesday. So instead, my priest asked me to do some almsgiving: to pray the Rosary for the holy souls in purgatory.
The Rosary and Any Intention or Desire
You can offer the Rosary for anyone you wish or for anything you wish. Of course, it is always an act of love when you offer the Rosary for someone in need, or for someone you care about, or for anyone really.
In fact, you can offer a particular decade (10 Hail Marys) for someone, or anything.
Or you can offer a single Hail Mary within the Rosary for a departed soul. You just say before the Hail Mary: ‘For [state name].’
One single Hail Mary offered for a departed soul works wonders. Imagine praying a Rosary of 50 Hail Marys for that soul! What a wonderful thing to do!
Often, when someone asks me to pray for them, I do what St Dominic did: I offer a single Hail Mary for them. To do this, I simply say: ‘For [name]: Hail Mary …’ and off I go.
The Mass and a Departed Soul
Whilst reciting the Rosary is an amazing thing to do for a departed soul, it cannot compare to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Sacrifice of the Mass is offered for both the living and the dead.
So if you haven’t asked your priest to offer Mass for someone who has died, this is a very good idea and is of great value before God.
You can pray any prayers you want to for someone who has died. It doesn’t have to be the Rosary.
One ‘Our Father’ (the Lord’s Prayer) offered for someone who has died is of inestimable value.
One of the greatest prayers is the following:
‘Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.’
Catholics pray this prayer very often for departed souls.
There was also a prayer revealed to St Gertrude the Great which is said to release 1000 souls from purgatory when prayed just once devoutly. It goes like this:
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.
Why not try saying this prayer now, from the heart?
Whatever prayers you use, be assured that your prayers for someone who has died are never, ever, ever wasted.
It takes great faith to pray for someone who has died, because you will never know in this life whether your prayers were answered. God always honours great faith.
If you want to know more about the Rosary, please check out our many, many posts on the Rosary.
God bless you richly